Island



E. F. GALLAUDH. STAY. MPUCATION FILED SEPT-26. L9H- 1,3@3,05% Patented May 6, 1919.

IN VEN TOR.

WITNESSES.-

ATTORNEYS.

srrns PATENT orrrcfn EDSON F. GALLAULDET, 0E PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO GALLAUDET AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, OF-KENT COUNTY, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF NEW YDRK.

particularly to the stays which are used in aeroplane construction Where their strength,

safety, and lightness are all important.

On account of the great increase in strength of the fibers of the metal produced y drawing wires down to small diameters, it is much better to make the staysof a number of small wires stranded together than i of a single wire of equivalent section. For

. the'same total strength the stranded cable is lighter'than the single wire. Also, and more important, if a flaw existsjin the wire, in a stranded cable only a single one of its many strands is afi'ected, whereas a flaw in a single Wire stay is likely to cause complete failure.

Unfortunately, the round stranded cable is of a form which offers the highest possible resistance to its transverse motion through the air. For this reason solid wires of stream. line section have been developed at great expense, but the danger of failure through flaws in the metal has been so great that the stream line solid wire stay has never come into general use. And consequently, in spite of the objection due to. its

form-a matter of very considerable consequence because of the number of stays required in an aeroplanethe standard cable stay of twisted wire, which is provided with terminal eyes by folding its ends back and wrapping or splicing them to the cable, is today almost universally used in aeroplane construction.

The object of my invention is to provide a standard wire stay which possesses even greater strength, safety, and lightness than the twisted cable stay and combines with this advantage the features of thestream l'ine section.

Accordingly, in its preferred form, my improved stay is made up of a continuous length of small tinned wire which is wrapped around two gromets, providing the terminal eyes, so as to form between the gromets two flat series of straight parallel strands between which is stretched a thin Specification of Letters Patent.

understood by side of the ribbon.

' STAY.

brass ribbon so positioned and of a width to project slightly beyond the outside strands of wire on what is to be the leading edge of the stay and a little more on its trailing edge; the wire strands and ribbon being wrapped, after the strands of wire have been wound with wrap-ping wire close to each of the gromets, and suitably secured at intervals throughout its length to the opposite sides of the ribbon, with linen tape which gives to the stay a good stream line section.

The construction of the stay willbe clearly reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a view showing one edge of the stay before it has been covered with the linen tape; Fig. 2 is a view showing one side numerals 3 3 indicate the strands of the wire which close to each grommet are wrapped with a soft copper wire 4, held in place byv solder, to completethe terminal eyes, and are spot soldered at intervals, indicated by the numeral 5, to the opposite sides of the ribbon, the two ends 6 of the wire being secured by being given an extra turn around one of the gromets and then passed through the adjacent end Wrapping; and the numeral 7 indicates the covering of linen tape.

The stay can be conveniently made as fol lows: Two pins are set up at the exact dis tance desired between eye centers at the ends. A gromet is placed on each pin, and the brass ribbon, usually about seven-eighths of an inch wide, is stretched between the gromets with its planes parallel to the axes of the pins. The wire is then wrapped longitudinally around the gromet's, until there are some eight or ten strands (the number depending upon the size of the wire used and the strength required of the stay) on each After this, the end wrapping wires are applied and soldered to hold them and the two ends of the wire in place, and the strands of the wire are clamped close tothe sides of the ribbon and spot soldered at intervals thereto. The

stay is then completed either before or after it is removed from the pins by Wrapping around 11: the wrapping of linen tape.

Patented May 1919. Application filed September 26, 1917. Serial No. 193,257.

By the construction described, besides providing an excellent stream line section, I

obtain a stay which, since all the strands of the wire are straight, is somewhat stronger than the usual stay containing a like number of strands of the same Wire twisted into the spirals of a cable, thus afiording a greater factor of safety for the same weight or permitting a reduction in weight with the same strength. A further advantage is that the eye end fastenings, because there is no break in the continuity of the wire at these points,. give the entire strength of the straight strands in the stay, which is not the case in a cable stay Where the terminal eyes have to be formed by wrapping or splicing the looped back ends of the cable.

This construction has proven so advantageous in practical use that it has been adopted even for. thosestays, such as are employed for internal wing and body trussing, which are not exposed to the wind;

and for such uses, where the stream line section is of course unnecessary, the brass rlbbon is omitted and the straight strands of wire are simply wrapped together in a compact round bundle by the linen tape.

The invention can obviously be otherwise modified in the various details specifically shown and described, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing all of the advantages thereof.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A stream line stay having in combination two gromets, a brass ribbon extending between the gromets, a continuous wire wrapped in a continuous length around the gromets and along the ribbon so as to present on each side thereof a plurality of straight strands which are wrapped with wire close to the gromets and soldered at intervals to the ribbon leaving the edges of the ribbon projecting somewhat beyond the outer strands, and a linen tape wrapped around the strands of wire and the edges of the ribbon.

2. A stream line stay having in combination two romets, a thin metal ribbon extending etween the gromets, a wire wrapped around the gromets and along the ribbon so as to form on each side thereof a plurality of straight strands which are suitably secured near the gromets and to the sides of the ribbon leaving the two edges of the ribbon projecting somewhat beyond the outer strands, and a suitable covering enveloping the strands and ribbon.

3. A stream line stay comprising a metal ribbon, a continuous length of wire Wrapped lengthwise around the ribbon so as to form eye loops at the ends and a series of straight parallel strands along each side thereof but leaving both edges of the ribbon projecting somewhat beyond the outer strands, means completing the eyes, means suitably securing the strands of wire to the sides of the ribbon, and a suitable covering.

-l. A stream line stay comprising a fiat metal ribbon extending longitudinally thereof, a series of straight strands of wire laid side by side along and secured tothe side of the ribbon leaving both edges of the ribbon projecting laterally somewhat beyond the outer strandsof wlre, and a thin covering enveloping both the strands and ribbon.

5. A stream line stay which comprises as elements thereof a thin fiat ribbon extending the length thereof and a series of straight strands of small wire laid side by side along and secured to the side of the ribbon, the ribbon being of such Width that it will extend laterally somewhat beyond the outer strands of wire.

EDSON F. GALLAUDET. 

